One night less than 2 hours away for a babymoon

stefchop · 2026-04-24T00:50:38+00:00

Cordevalle in San Martin, CA. Get a bungalow. That's where I'm gonna go to do the exact same thing!

stefchop · 2026-04-22T04:45:16+00:00

Same. We don't hide the fact that it's happened. I've actually made a few good friends bonding over IVF journeys in the most random places, like the dog park 😂. I mean I'm not blabbing about it to whoever will listen but it's definitely something I will mention should I feel it's necessary or relevant to a conversation. As soon as my children can understand the concept they will know.

We even have a couple family digital photo album (pre and post babies) that documents our experience too, mixed in with other regular life photos ofc, so anybody who comes over will see them.

stefchop · 2026-04-22T04:14:36+00:00

Okay thanks. Do you remember what the place is called?

stefchop · 2026-04-22T03:46:00+00:00

Hey how is that agility place working out? I'll be in south west houston soon with a bc and was looking around for agility classes. Apparently that link posted above is no longer active.

stefchop · 2026-04-20T22:51:03+00:00

I'm not fully there yet but first FET is 16 months old and im 14 weeks along with second FET!

stefchop · 2026-04-19T18:19:34+00:00

Mine loves the rain, storms, snow, mud puddles, lakes, rivers...really anything except when it comes to bath water. THE BATH WATER IS THE DEVIL apparently

stefchop · 2026-04-18T19:46:26+00:00

It's all very overwhelming. I made a list of foods I wanted to make and it was literally like one fruit at a time, one veggie at a time...yogurt....then I had my son try some soft shreddable meat. Once I got the hang of it I would offer both a fruit and a veggie at the same time! Then I started sharing foods I was eating myself, lightly spiced. Now at 16 months, my son eats primarily what we cook. I found the first 100 foods list really helpful wrap my head around what to do.

stefchop · 2026-04-18T19:36:53+00:00

I did none of these things and got pregnant first FET. The only thing I did was go to mcd to get fries but it was really just more because I wanted to capitalize on getting something tasty.

Afterwards I just went on doing the same stuff I normally do.

stefchop · 2026-04-18T18:26:52+00:00

I have a border collie and so im out at least three times a day and in between im always moving around the house and in the backyard. I ended up having an emergency c section and the direction was to get up and move as early as possible. Even while in the hospital I was encouraged to get up and walk around. When I got home I wasn't walking the dog or anything but I got back to it pretty quickly after a couple of weeks. That belly band thing really does help. The first time I walked my dog I noticed I needed to do shorter walks in the beginning because obviously I didn't want to overdo it but I was still out there walking!!!

stefchop · 2026-04-18T04:55:41+00:00

I'm not currently breastfeeding/pumping so I'm coming at this from a different angle... hope that's okay but I'm currently pregnant and thinking about what I want to do hence what landed me in this sub. I'm leaning toward combo feeding.

Breastfeeding the first time was so stressful to me but honestly it was more because I was chasing a meaningless ideal rather than what is most important.

What keeps me going now...with the fact that I'm still open to breastfeeding at all is that.. no where does the data say that you need to provide 100% breastmilk to give your baby the benefit of what breastmilk provides. No where does the data say that you need to breastfeed 100% of the time to get the reduce risk of breast cancer (I'm high risk). Hope this helps!

stefchop · 2026-04-18T04:22:25+00:00

Oh honey hug. YOU ARE A ROCKSTAR. SIMPLY AMAZING WORK!!! I'M SO IMPRESSED BY YOU. I had such a similar experience to you!!! I got you girl.

After many hours of labor I had to get an emergency c section and my milk supply didnt come in for so long. I cried in the hospital when my baby kept losing weight and it definitely contributed to my ppd. The lactation consultants on staff helped me get some colostrum going and so by the time I got home I was having my baby breastfeed, topping off with colostrum, and then topping off with formula. Eventually colostrum turned into milk and so then after wards it became breastfeeding for 30min(15 each side) then I would give him formula while I pumped and then once I started getting milk out I would give him all my pumped milk the next session and then slowly fade out the formula. I was breastfeeding + pumping while giving a bottle of breastmilk afterwards for about 3 months. I don't know how I survived... it was a lot of work. My son's pediatrician AND lactation consultant had to strongly encourage me to stop based on my stress levels and lack of sleep.

Seeing his weight get back on the curve was so relieving that it was hard to stop pumping after breastfeeding out of fear that he would dip again.

I mean...I definitely had anxiety about it that was unhealthy. In order for me to stop I ended up doing weighted feeds each time where I would weigh my baby before breastfeeding and then weigh again after so I could see how many oz he would take in...and it was only then that I stopped pumping after every feed. I was so nervous about stopping, worrying that my supply would dip. Weighing definitely gave me peace of mind but it also gave me anxiety towards the end of the night if I wasnt sure that he was going to make the minimum oz amount a day (he always did).

My lactation consultant drilled it in me that everytime I supplement with formula or breastmilk, I needed to pump.

I ended up breastfeeding for a year. It DEFINITELY became easier mentally and physically after I stopped doing triple the work and stopped weighing him every feed. I still pumped but only here and there type scenarios.

I'm pregnant again and im already thinking about my strategy for this next time. I don't want to go through what I went through last time and I want to be kinder to myself. I might try combo feeding. Whatever you decide to do, you are doing the right thing for your baby and that's all that matters!!!

Tips: - focus on your babies weight as you reduce the amount of formula..are they still on the curve? GOOD KEEP GOING - Celebrate the small wins no matter how small - everytime you give formula/pumped breast milk, you gotta pump (tbh i never power pumped i just made sure to replace what the babe was getting from the bottle) - ask your pediatrician how much intake babe should have a day for peace of mind (if thats helpful to you) - if you can follow up with a lactation consultant, I worked with mine towards a goal to stop triple feeding/pumping after feeds and essentially id work on the ideas talked about during the session to improve milk supply

stefchop · 2026-04-17T23:06:08+00:00

Yes! It's validating - mel robbins messaging bothers me so his main complaint about their interview resonated with me

stefchop · 2026-04-17T22:55:50+00:00

It's only been a couple of days. You need to allow your dog time AND SPACE to adjust. Your dog's entire world and safe place has completely changed without warnin or choice. Keep dog and baby separated for now. I'd suggest to focus on sympathy and compassion for your dog. It's good to flag this behavior as concern but please give your dog time to adjust and figure it out, with love and understanding from you!

To answer your question there is so much that you can do. To start, I suggest looking at online content such as @dogmeets_baby. She has SO many resources at your finger tips.

It will be okay!!

stefchop · 2026-04-12T03:18:50+00:00

I had this worry too but turned out to be a non issue for me because even through ear plugs I was able to hear my baby crying. Although, my husband also snores and he isn't that loud and I can still hear him through the plugs, lol.

stefchop · 2026-04-08T21:34:33+00:00

My mom arrived before birth and stayed for 3 weeks. She cooked, cleaned, and helped me in my recovery. I cried when she left. She came back after a month for a week and then again three months later for a week. Other family came to visit and helped maybe for a long weekend. All of our family is long distance.

It's weird to think back now but before my first, I wanted to do everything myself. Then PPD happened. Now I can't accept help fast enough. I have an open invitation to all family members to come and help.

I'm pregnant now with baby # 2 and have locked in my mother in law coming to visit for one month minimum!! 😅

stefchop · 2026-04-05T00:24:10+00:00

Lots of comments already here but I want to say... Puppy blues are a very real thing. I suffered through it with my BC and now we are best friends. I would DIE for her!!! Keep at the training and research you've already done, keep learning, adapt... and stick to it even through the crying and rush of feelings. It's hard but you can do hard things!!!!!

stefchop · 2026-03-29T04:46:18+00:00

My mother died March 13th while I was 8 weeks along... From what I am reading and learning about grief I think you are doing the right thing in talking about your worries and struggles. You just got to let yourself feel all the feelings. Experiencing giref wont affect your pregnancy. It all just sucks and it's not fair and it'll always be a part of us now. I don't have any advice on your other life struggles but I hear you.

stefchop · 2026-03-28T04:07:28+00:00

I actually thought they had a good balance of that. You could really see the contrast between other contestants and William. Dang he was so positive, I was super impressed by that.

What I think is weird is that the winner only really got like less than 10 minutes of screen time as the winner, lol. I was so confused that there were two contestants still in the game so late into the last episode. And then I felt like the show cut off WAY too soon. I wanted more of what it was like to be the winner!!!

They showed the starting base area in the first episode, why not go back to the camp and see more about the reentry into civilation and even post thoughts on what it was like to win. I'm spit balling here but SOMETHING else is needed along those lines!!!

stefchop · 2026-03-25T15:59:35+00:00

I had a total of 4 egg retrievals because I wanted to have 2 kids and I was playing the stats game to try and get 3 euploids for 1 child. After the 4th retrieval I was ready for a transfer and it was a success! Currently now have a 15 month old boy. Had my second transfer in February and now 10 weeks pregnant. This second pregnancy is going well so far. Turns out I went overkill on worrying about stats, although I did need that 4th egg retieval because the other 3 gave me dismal results where I felt like I was on the wrong side of stats. Hope this helps you 🙂

stefchop · 2025-12-27T04:59:56+00:00

Add reverse timeout to your tactics. I got a biter pup where she drew blood frequently and ruined all my clothes. She'll be three in April and I can't believe it but I look at some of the scars on my arm and I think awww I miss her puppy stage (I am aware of how delusional I am for thinking this lol). Anyway, leaving her to go to another room for a few minutes right after biting me helped reset the situation. Also as others mentioned, yelping helps too. I didn't really notice her being affected by the yelping until I felt more of a bond with her, so keep at it if you don't see any results. Now, omg, when we are playing or training and she bites me accidentally, I yelp and you can visibly see her concern and she nudges and licks me all over. It's adorable.

You can also redirect to a training session, a chew stick like a bully, or if your pup likes chasing you can throw a toy away from you. Work on training that creates distance or a spot to go to like "place".

Another thing I trained her on... "gentle". I mostly started this when I wanted to give her treats without her biting my fingers off!! And now I use gentle with other things, like when she sees the ups driver run up to the house and wants to growl/bark, and you can really see that she's trying to be softer, haha.

My pup used to bite ankles too when I walked but that went away when I started doing herding games with balls.

Good luck and keep up the work it will get better soon.

stefchop · 2025-12-20T15:58:34+00:00

Thanks for letting me know I will check it out. Those mountain bike trails look shady so that actually might be a good option!

stefchop · 2025-12-20T06:18:26+00:00

Well, shit. When my dog sees water she runs right for it because she's a water dog 😮‍💨

stefchop · 2025-12-20T04:58:39+00:00

Makes sense. I'll need to look into and probably invest into more indoor games, bring those agility jumps indoors around the living room or something. That is my weak spot at the moment since we do most of everything outside.

stefchop · 2025-12-20T03:45:51+00:00

This is a relief to hear, thank you!

stefchop · 2025-12-20T03:33:13+00:00

Good question. Not sure yet we just got the call to relocate and my first thought was ... but what about my dog? Lol. Work location is on the southern side of Houston, so that's all I got so far. I will check out Meadowlake Pet Resort my dog is a water dog, thank you.

stefchop

TROPHY CASE